The Trail at this Point

Curley's Bridge is a conventional slatted bridge which crosses a small perennial stream ("year round"). Built by Boy Scout Troop 39, this was the first construction project on the property. Later the Americorps team added the rock and crushed stone to accomodate for the steep slope that meets one side.

Seen along the Trail

Almost immediately the trail takes you through a forested wetland. Adventitious roots can be seen on the trees that grow here. Sensitive Fern dominates the herbaceous layer of the forest floor, and in the winter its fronds can be seen poking up through the snow. It is here that Americorps has built bog bridging to get you through the wet areas. During the winter, these bridges are slippery, so be careful.

Keep your eyes open for Yellow Birch. It's all over on this part of the trail. Yellow Birch is a tree that survives very well in poorly drained soils. Staying on the path leads you to a drier portion of land where many tall spruce stand. Curley's bridge crosses a perennial stream that the rest of the trail follows on its way to the marsh.

Yellow Birch - Betula alleghaniensis or lutea

It is also called Gray Birch or Silver birch.

The Yellow Birch habitat is in seasonally flooded forested wetlands and rich moist upland woods. It is a broad-leaved deciduous tree that grows up to 100 feet tall. Yellow Birch gets its name form the shiny, golden-yellow or silvery-gray bark that peels in thin strips.

If you are not sure whether it is a Yellow Birch or another birch species, break a small twig and smell. The Yellow Birch gives off a wintergreen odor when broken. It is one of only two birches that emit the wintergreen odor, and the other - the Cherry Birch - is only sometimes found in southwestern Maine ... less likely being here on the coast.

When identifying trees, it is often necessary to look not only at the shape of the leaves, but how they are arranged on the branches. The Yellow Birch has egg-shaped leaves that are alternately arranged on the branch, which means that the location where two side by side leaves connect to the branch is not the same; they are not opposite each other but located up or down the other side of the branch. The Yellow Birch flowers from April through May, though it has inconspicuous flowers on the elongated catkins. It has flattened, winged fruits.

It does get confusing when the common names of plant species are the same for two different species. This is the case with the Yellow and Gray Birch, which both have been called White Birch. Both are found on the property.

Continuing the Trail Walk